soft poops caused by sudden change of diet?

[woolala]

I'm babysitting a 6-month old chin for my friend for a month.

He was only 340g when he came to my house two weeks ago. He was on Charlie, and obviously he only ate the colorful stuff (dried veggies and fruits I guess) but never the pellets. He came to me with a bag of Kaytee Timothy cube and a bag of Kaytee Timothy hay that has mango in it (?!), and he seldom ate any hay at all.

So in general, he lived on treats.

I switched him to Oxbow immediately, and also provided him with fresh Timothy hay that I had. He refused to eat anything for about 2 days but eventually started eating. He can eat about 1 to 1.5 tbsp pellets now, and a big bowl of hay, and I'm happy about it.

The problem is, he kept giving me soft poops!!! :hair:
I guess it must be caused by the sudden change of diet? But how can I change his diet gradually if he lived solely on treats in the past?? I tried to mix the pellets from Charlie with Oxbow pellets, but it didn't help at all (I guess for him it's still a new diet since he never ate Charlie pellets in the past any way).

Any suggestion at this point?
His poops are very soft but not mushy yet. Should I wait for a couple of days?

 

[Jenn]

I'll need an expert to chime in on this, but I think you did the right thing with the sudden switch to Oxbow and supplementing with lots of hay. I wonder if acidopholus would help get him back on the right track again.

 

[javachin]

Try giving him some shredded wheat to bind everything up. You could also get some Bene-Bac as a probiotic, and start with about half a tube twice a day.

 

[AZChins]

Acidophilus would help help a bit. Sometimes a quick switch to a brand new feed can cause to some pretty heinous consequences. It's just so difficult to make the change at times, it can lead to not only digestive chances but also changes in the blood chemistry and body that can lead to some serious issues. Death can occur if it's taken to quickly with chins. Be super careful with changes with changes - do 1/2" old feed with 1/2" of the old.

Acidophilus can help dramatically with switching from one food to another....

 

[woolala]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I guess I'll try acidophilus.

Acidophilus would help help a bit. Sometimes a quick switch to a brand new feed can cause to some pretty heinous consequences. It's just so difficult to make the change at times, it can lead to not only digestive chances but also changes in the blood chemistry and body that can lead to some serious issues. Death can occur if it's taken to quickly with chins. Be super careful with changes with changes - do 1/2" old feed with 1/2" of the old.

Wow...this looks scary. He lived solely on treats in the past, so should I do 1/2 Oxbow and 1/2 Charlie then? His owner tried to do that but he would pick out the treats and leave both oxbow and charlie pellets in the bowl, and that's why he is so skinny :banghead:

But I'm willing to let him go back to his treat-only diet if he is only safe and healthy that way. I don't want to kill him .... Since he is not mine, his owner will probably kill me when she comes back.

 

[Stormcrow]

A bit of a double feeling ain't it?
Giving him no more treats changes his lifestyle in a good way, but may hold risks.
Switching back to mainly threats is bad for him eitherway...

Since it ain't your pet I understand why you look upon it as a risk, so maybe the best way would be to educate your friend once he comes to pick him up?

 

[Jenn]

I wouldn't switch him back, I would continue giving just the Oxbow since you've already made the switch. He would also most likely only eat the Charlie and ignore the Oxbow. Just continue to offer a lot of hay and try the acidophilus.

 

[woolala]

A bit of a double feeling ain't it?
Giving him no more treats changes his lifestyle in a good way, but may hold risks.
Switching back to mainly threats is bad for him eitherway...

Since it ain't your pet I understand why you look upon it as a risk, so maybe the best way would be to educate your friend once he comes to pick him up?

I've started educating my friend over email for the past 2 weeks! I had no idea she was feeding him the wrong food before I babysit him ...

 

[woolala]

I wouldn't switch him back, I would continue giving just the Oxbow since you've already made the switch. He would also most likely only eat the Charlie and ignore the Oxbow. Just continue to offer a lot of hay and try the acidophilus.

Alright, acidophilus it is!

 

[AZChins]

Sorry about my post last night...I meant to say half of the new food with half of the old to start the switch - I was really tired and falling asleep when I typed that out.

Definitely don't switch back, keep going with the change.

 

[woolala]

He took acidophilus last night and ate half Charlie (only pellets) with half Oxbow, and his poops improved significantly today. I just picked up a fresh one and it's about normal now.

I'm so relieved... Thanks everyone for the input!

His weight actually dropped a little, from 340g (two weeks ago) to 330g as of today. Should I be worried or it is normal after a sudden change like this?

I'm hoping he can gain some weight after he is fully comfortable with the new diet with better nutrition

 

[Jenn]

I don't think I would be worried yet. I'm no expert, but I would think if he continues to have better poops and is eating well, he should start to gain the weight back and you could check that in a few days to a week...

 

[ChinnyMom]

but if a chin is on really crappy food (Charlie Chinchilla for instance), shouldn't the switch to good food be done immediately, with no mixing of the old and new. aka a 'cold switch'? that is what i have read over and over on this forum, and have done such a switch with both my boys when they came home without any issue at all.

now i do understand that some chins will have more digestive sensitivity than others to food switches, but keeping them on the crap, even if it's mixed with a good pellet, wouldn't that just keep them digging out the crap food and not eating the good stuff anyway? acidophillus, lots of hay, and a shredded wheat or two is what's needed to help with the switch, in my opinion.

i'm confused at your advice here Susan, with saying the crap food should be mixed in to start the switch. won't the chin just continue to eat their 'candy' and not the healthy food, which is the reason for the switch?

and yes, the weight loss is normal. if you were eating only junk food for the longest time, and then stopped and had only healthy food, you'd lose weight too, eh? )

 

[Jenn]

I had thought I read that a cold switch had initially been done? So either I misread that, or the OP went back to a mix after a cold switch...although she did mention she is only providing the pellet from the Charlie mix.

Keep providing the hay and acidophilus until the switch is complete and his weight and poops are good.

 

[AZChins]

If the chin is having diarrhea because of the food, it's better to mix it half and half to try to ease them over slowly. Some chins cannot take the change quickly at all and have issues. Sometimes it's better to let them have what their gut bacteria can easily digest rather than switch over completely...sorry to confuse you...normally I would go with a complete switch to something better, Sherry.

This is a different situation completely. It doesn't matter what the chin eats, the diarrhea is a much worse condition to have than have the chin eat a little of the old food for a little longer. Diarrhea can lead to severe dehydration and changes in the food can cause other changes in the body. I've been taking in rescues for a long time and I know that when they develop diarrhea I need to take food changes very slowly with them. You can't take a human that has been fed nothing but bread and water for years and switch them immediately to rich foods, and it can be the same for chinchillas.

(I'm confused why you were confused????)

 

[ChinnyMom]

i was confused because this is the first i've read about mixing crap and good food when a chin is on really crap food.

i understand that the digestive system can be shocked by sudden healthy food. when the OP said the poops were soft, but not mushy, i attributed that to the sudden change to healthy food. i know that this can be a normal thing when a chin's diet is changed. but aren't soft poops and diarrhea different?

if the chin wasn't eating the pellet part of the Charlie food before, and only eating the treat parts, it is still a cold switch in feed, with half Charlie pellets and half Oxbow, eh? the acidophilus is probably the factor here in the poops going back to normal.

 

[AZChins]

This animal needs to be switched over slowly. Most of the time chins that do a cold switch do not have any soft droppings at all. Sometimes it is necessary to switch over slowly because things don't go exactly as planned. Soft droppings are diarrhea, they always have been...there can be much worse diarrhea if it gets much more out of hand, but squishy droppings are diarrhea for sure and are NOT NORMAL.

Most of the time a new feed will make a chin eat a lot more than normal even if it isn't treats. That's why we watch chin droppings when they are switched to a new feed or hay. Eating more can lead to overeating and overeating can lead to digestive upset and that leads to diarrhea. New foods often make chins consume much more food.

 

[ChinnyMom]

New foods often make chins consume much more food.

hoo boy.... this i know! my Guss went bonkers on his oxbow when he got here. was on that crappy Living World mix food before. no tummy upset or soft poops for him though, thankfully.

i'm in no way arguing your advice on this, i'm just asking questions and finding out the reasoning behind your replies, as this is the first time i've come across anyone on the forum saying no to a complete cold switch from crap food.

 

[AZChins]

It happens, some chins have to be eased into eating new foods and hay. Some of them are just more sensitive than others, so we have to be very careful at times.

 

[woolala]

It happens, some chins have to be eased into eating new foods and hay. Some of them are just more sensitive than others, so we have to be very careful at times.

Thanks Susan for your explanation! This little guy must be the sensitive one.

I didn't mention in my last post but I did hand-feed him several pieces of dried peas and corns from Charlie to help ease the switch. Maybe these treats contributed to the poop improvement as well.

I'll monitor his poops and weight for a couple of days. Hopefully he'll be on the right track when my friend comes to pick him up.